Chapter 38

38

A s darkness fell, Franklin made his way toward the ranch house. With no moon tonight, he could ride close to where his wife was without seeing her. They would need to start searching early tomorrow. His tired horse could rest overnight and be fresh to ride then. Discouragement sat heavy on his shoulders. Nothing . He'd found nothing that would tell them where Marvin took his wife. How long would she be safe? Mrs. Oleson said that Lorinda took what she thought she might need to help him, so she had food, coffee, and blankets. And she wore some of his warmer clothes. But if she was out in the weather…

He hoped Marvin had taken shelter somewhere she could be safe. But nowhere would be safe with that murderer. That dirty, rotten scoundrel. Franklin wished he'd never known the man. If not, maybe Lorinda would be at home with him right now, and his heart wouldn't be breaking for her.

Franklin rode up to the gate in the picket fence where Rusty and the posse had gathered. Maybe they found her, but when he looked at their faces, he knew they hadn't. More disappointment. He dismounted and passed the reins off to Rusty, who led Major toward the barn. The sheriff was on the porch steps talking to the milling crowd.

"Thank you, men. Since we didn't find anything today, we'll meet here at dawn to start again. We'd appreciate everyone who can come to help us."

The men started mounting their horses, preparing to ride home.

Franklin walked among them, thanking each one individually. He knew they dropped whatever they were doing to help. Hopefully, tomorrow they'd find Lorinda...and that rat, Marvin.

When he reached the front porch, he asked the sheriff to join him in the parlor to warm up before he headed to Breckenridge. Mrs. Oleson quickly headed toward the kitchen to retrieve mugs of coffee for him and the sheriff.

"Are the boys all right?" Franklin welcomed the hot drink from her.

"Yes, Molly Malone came soon after Rusty went to town. She brought her baby and plenty of clothes to stay a few days so she could nurse all three of the babies. The boys settled down pretty soon after their stomachs were full." Mrs. Oleson quickly left the two men alone.

Franklin leaned one arm on the mantel. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you and the posse arrived. I just couldn't sit around and wait while my wife was out there somewhere."

The older man dropped into the chair closest to the fireplace. "Didn't expect you to be here. I know I wouldn't wait if my wife was missing. So where did you search?"

Franklin took another big gulp of the hot liquid before setting it down on a nearby table. "First I rode out to see if I could follow the tracks. There were two horses. They led to a fairly small copse of trees. I followed them into the woods and across a small meadow. On the other side, another horse joined them. Then one horse headed back toward town. The other two rode the opposite direction. At one point, there were several other horses, some going one way, some another, with their trails crisscrossing. They seemed to double back to that one place, until all the hoof prints were mixed up. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a trail where the two horses branched off." He stared out the front window at the deepening twilight. "I sure hated to stop looking, knowing Lorinda was out there and I couldn't find her." He swiped his hand across his eyes where moisture had gathered.

The sheriff stood up and leaned on the other side of the mantel. "None of us wanted to stop. We had spread out like a wide net and searched every inch we had time to cover." He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "I'm sorry we didn't find her. Now I need you to tell me everything you know about this kidnapper."

By the time Franklin finished his tale, darkness had fallen like a cloak over the valley and mountains. No moon in sight and not enough light from the millions of stars above to help anyone find his wife.

Mrs. Oleson entered the parlor. "Sheriff, can you stay for a bowl of venison stew? It's hot, I made biscuits, and we have fresh-churned butter."

The lawman glanced at her. "I was planning on going back to town right away, but that sounds and smells mighty good. I'll eat with Franklin while we discuss what we'll do tomorrow. Then I'll have to get home and get some rest before we start out again."

Franklin was glad the man agreed to eat with him. He really didn't want to be alone with his thoughts before he had to. "We have plenty of room for you here. Why don't you stay? We'd get an earlier start tomorrow that way."

"Thanks for the offer." The sheriff followed him into the kitchen. "I'll take you up on it."

Even with his friend staying at the house, all kinds of bad scenarios of what Marvin might be doing to Lorinda made his heart heavy.

Off and on throughout the day, Marvin left Lorinda alone in the cavern. She didn't like it when he was near her. Fear and disgust filled every moment he was there. So did his terrible body odor.

When he was gone wasn't much better. Tied to a tall slagmite, one horse still shared the space with her, and she couldn't get anything to drink or eat, wrapped up in two blankets with her hands and feet tied. At least he had untied and let her go deeper into the cavern to relieve herself when he was there. She didn't go too far when she did.

The quiet darkness of the cave filled her with fear. Evil lived here. A malevolent force bound her as strong as the ropes that bound her hands and feet. As if there was no one else in the world.

She was totally alone. This was worse than the months she had spent snowed in at her and Mike's cabin. Then at least she could move around and had plenty to eat and drink. Thinking of that made her mouth and throat dry up, crying out for sustenance and water. She dropped her head against her knees that were drawn up inside the blankets.

Please, God, rescue me from this man's clutches. I'm sure there are many people out there searching for me. Guide them, Lord. Calm Franklin's heart and spirit. If I ever…when I see him again, I'll assure him I don't want to leave our happy home. I will finally express my love for him, no matter what he thinks about it. Amen, Lord Jesus.

Now she wished she'd memorized more Bible verses when she had a chance. Repeating the words would help calm her.

Once again, she heard a horse walking through the tunnel toward the cavern. Please let it be Franklin.

"Did you miss me?" The voice she hoped never to hear again grated against her nerves. She wished her hands were untied, so she could throw one of the rocks nearby at the hideous man.

His eerie laugh bounced off the rock walls. She wanted to cover her ears with her hands. Then he came into sight.

"Okay, we'll eat again. At least we still have some provisions." He dismounted and led the horse over beside the other one and hobbled him.

As he unwrapped the blankets from around her, she tried to hide her disgust when he brushed against her skin. After he untied her hands, he handed her a tin plate with cold beans and an even colder biscuit.

"This is getting close to the end of our grub." An evil grin split his face.

She shuddered while taking a few bites.

"You better hope that husband of yours takes my letter seriously." He shoveled a too-large bite into his mouth.

She dropped her chin against her chest and kept eating. What would happen when they ran out of food? Would this bad man go out to find something more for them to eat? She really couldn't see him doing that.

"He needs to bring the ransom to me by tomorrow. If not–" The outlaw took his knife and ran the tip across his own throat without breaking the skin. "–he'll never find you in time to save you."

A strong shudder ran through her whole body. At least, the man was too interested in feeding his face to notice.

Help me, Jesus…help me, Jesus…help me, Jesus. The words ran over and over through her mind, a way to cling to her sanity.

"I watched that posse of fools looking for us, but not one got a glimpse of me." His words were filled with an evil kind of glee.

Lorinda shut out his words, overcoming them with the words she kept repeating in her mind. Her only hope was in Jesus.

Franklin slept fitfully that night, and when morning arrived, he felt spent. He grabbed a quick breakfast with the sheriff and met the other men outside the ranch house at dawn. They divided into teams of two and spread across the valley. They swept across the area, searching every canyon, draw, smaller mountain, and river or stream on the way. As the day progressed, Franklin became more and more desperate. How long can Lorinda last in this cold?

Late in the afternoon, all the teams met and encircled a large rock formation that lifted high above the valley floor. As they looked up toward the top of the formation, they saw a horse and rider. A cry went up and spread from team to team. They closed ranks and blocked any path of escape.

Franklin rode around the pile of boulders until he reached a place where he could see the man was indeed Marvin Pratt. By that time, the sheriff was riding beside Franklin.

"Marvin–" Franklin yelled up at him.

The outlaw stopped and stared down at him.

One of the members of the posse raised his rifle and aimed for Marvin's heart. "Want me to take the shot, Sheriff?"

"No!" Franklin rode to stop the man. "If we kill him, we won't know where my wife is."

"You bring my money, Franklin?" Marvin sounded very sure of himself.

Franklin seethed. The man was one ornery son-of-a-gun. He wished they could shoot the man, but not before he knew where Lorinda was.

The sheriff stood tall in his stirrups. "Marvin Pratt. We have you surrounded. Ride down with your hands up."

"Want to make a deal, Sheriff?" Marvin still looked as if he thought he was in control.

"What kind of deal?" The lawman frowned up at the criminal.

Franklin turned toward the sheriff. "You can't make a deal with this desperado. The man's a murderer, arsonist, cattle thief, and we don't know what else."

The sheriff held up his palm to stop Franklin's tirade.

"I don't have to have the money." Marvin shifted in his saddle, and his horse moved restlessly beneath him. "I'll trade the whereabouts of Mrs. Vine for my freedom."

Franklin started to speak, but the sheriff stopped him.

"Marvin, you know I can't let you loose. You've committed too many crimes–murder, arson, stealing cattle, stealing horses, and who knows what else? We can't have you riding around in this area. So come on down, and we'll see what the law can agree to if you help us find Mrs. Vine. That's the best I can do."

Franklin held his breath. Would Marvin give up? Would this soon be over? His heartbeat accelerated. Please let it be over, Lord.

"I ain't goin' back to prison. B'sides, most of my crimes are hangin' offenses. Last chance to let me go?" His hate-filled, beady eyes stared at Franklin. "You've had the love of two women. I couldn't beat you...until today."

"No deals." The sheriff shouted.

Quick as a flash, Marvin's gun was out of his holster and pointed against his own head.

"No!" Franklin's shout coincided with the crack of the gunshot.

Marvin dropped to the hard rocks below his horse's hooves.

Franklin jumped off Major and scrambled up the side of the huge mound of boulders. Maybe he could get there before Marvin died. If so, he'd make the man tell him where Lorinda was.

The sheriff climbed right behind him. They both knelt beside the body of Marvin Pratt. Franklin didn't have to check the man's pulse to know he was gone.

He hunkered on the rock, tears streaming down his face. "What are we going to do?"

The sheriff stood beside him. "We keep searching. We'll find her."

Franklin hated Marvin more than ever since he took his own life.

Hated that he'd argued with Lorinda.

Hated that he'd been too much of a coward to tell her how much he loved her.